I am on a methadone maintenance program, should I tell my family I go to a clinic everyday to take methadone?

Question

Methadone helps me to stay off heroin, i have to sneak and make a 2 hr drive 6 days a week to clinic for methadone. I use my moms car and nobody knows i am doing this, this is very difficult to do and very expensive, I dont know that my strait and religous family will understand.

Answer 1

heroin is cool

Answer 2

Man o Man. I know all about Methadone. Let me ask you this. Was your family aware of your heroin addiciton? If so, I bet they would be "glad" to see you go get Methadone treatment rather than be strung out on H.

If they don't know about your H addiction, then only you can decide if you are close enough with them or if they are understanding enough, or love you enough to understand that you have made a conscious decision to "stop" using Heroin - which is such an expensive and excruciatingly addictive drug & nearly impossible to stop cold turkey! Just getting to a point of knowing you need some kind of help, and fast, is a good move!

Methadone seems to be the only logical help for now, until they come up with a better way to stop using H so you don't have to make the clinic trip every day for "maybe" years or the rest of your life, who knows.
Methadone is a life saver, and at the same time it, too, sucks because of the day after day after day dependency on it! But thank God there is Methadone, huh? it sure beats H.

Good Luck with your choice, and I pray that your folks love you enough to support you. God knows you need all the support you can get on this deal.......Going to the clinic every morning sounds like a 4-hr drive R/T x 5-6 days/week. Surely someone is bound to notice the gas usage and mileage on the car!! Man, you must live a long way from a large city. Most large cities have 3-5 clinics to choose from.

Good Luck! Don't get back on the H for nothing!! God bless!

Answer 3

It depends. Does your family know of your addiction? How open minded are they?

While no one should feel guilty or ashamed seeking ANY kind of treatment, methadone is held in some contempt by many who really should know better. The fact that many view it as simply "switching one addiction for another" have either never experienced the misery of waking up opiate dependent or have tried it and failed without giving it another chance. And even after being educated on its effectiveness in saving lives the user/patient/client will still be stigmatized (consciously or unconsciously) due to societal views. Nothing is going to change that anytime soon. Again, all this largely depends on how accepting or judgmental your family may be.

My own experience with people has shown that unless its absolutely necessary to inform them, you are better off keeping it to yourself. Dosing only takes a matter of seconds and you leave the clinic for the day. If you're on for an extended time and gain take-home status, so much the better.

The main thing is that YOU feel comfortable with your choices and your treatment because in the end YOU are the one who has to live with yourself. Not anyone else. Corny but true.

A bit of unsolicited advice: DO NOT listen to supposed "facts" about methadone treatment from family, friends or family friends (perhaps your moms friend who may be a nurse, a family doctor, etc....most of the medical profession is just as clueless as the rest of the civilians). Another group you can who's advice you can do without is 12 step, AA/NA etc. You will find they discriminate against MM patients more than any other group you'll encounter despite them claiming to have "an open mind". Most of all (and pay particular attention to this): DO NOT listen to OTHER clients in line at the clinic. 90% of them have half-truths, twisted facts or simply outright myths for info. The only ONLY people you should take your info on meth treatment from are the clinic staff which includes the doctors and nurses. Follow the clinic rules, make sure your dose is high enough to stop any opiate cravings, stay away from old user friends and you'll do fine.

treatment is largely intuitive. you'll know what feels "right" and what doesn't. Just know that what you are attempting now is the best thing you can possibly do for yourself. Good luck!

Answer 4

try and find a closer clinic.Be glad u can go. My son took hydrocodone cause he needed a hip replaced and had no ins to help him and social security turned him down. he was hooked and they sent him to a pain clinic and said they would not give anything on the first visit. that was on wed he was dead on saturday where they gave him a prescription for 250 tablets of methadonewhich is synthetic for heroin. the combination of the 2 drugs killed him. an overdose. he left a wife and several children and one on the way. Be honest with your family and take a supportive person with u when u tell them and if they are christians they will need to accept this and that u are seeking help and now u need there help.If they cant accept than they need to ask God to help them to be forgiving and understanding. we are all sinners. Remember to be very carefull with methadone and mixing other drugs.It is a very powerful drug and killing lots of people who arent aware of the dangers and overdosesI can never bring my son back. he was 41 and I cry every day and its been a year in august but I can warn people of the dangers of overdose.God bless you. u are in my prayers

Answer 5

Since you are using your mothers car what does she think your doing? Could be what she is thinking is worse than you helping yourself. Does anyone in your family know of your heroin addiction? If they do I'm sure they would love to know that you are recovering. If not, now is a good time to let them in on your secret. A secret is very dangerous until its told, then it loses it strength. You don't have to tell everyone. Talk to the person your closest to and then the both of you can decide how to tell the others when your ready. Family can be a very strong support system. Give them a chance to support you in your daily struggle for sobriety. Good luck.

Answer 6

I'd say that depends on how you think they will react and what kind of reaction you are looking for. Try not to set yourself up for a fall if they don't react the way that you want them too and set up other support for yourself, like friends, a recovery group like NA or an addictions counselor.

I think you are doing a great thing for yourself in terms of getting off the hard drugs and I congratulate you. I wish you all the best in your recovery and hope all goes well for you!

Answer 7

some human beings oppose needle exchange because of the fact they in all hazard desire the Addicts to Die.. the superb Needle exchange. I take insulin with needles. and its the pits All my existence no needles and now huge Time If I dint take ( needles) i'd be ineffective.. enable them to a minimum of the added time they might have witht the Needle Exhange courses. and a few convenience . rather of utilising needles that fluctuate into contaminated. Its inhumane to rail against helpless people who're already on the endge of existence. to refuse IC XC NIKA

Answer 8

only if you want to. it's your business. however, if you want their help or support, it would be wise to tell them.